Signify, the company behind Philips Hue, had a lot to report at IFA. In addition to many products, one piece of news in particular caused a stir: Matter is coming—and for all Philips Hue products. The only requirement is having the Philips Hue Bridge.
Yes, good things sometimes take a while. Signify has taken its sweet time with the Matter smart home standard, but now the company can announce that it’s a done deal: Starting in the fall, the Matter software update will finally be distributed—according to Signify, it will start at the end of September!
Originally, the update was announced for the first quarter of 2023 after a long test phase, but as we know, nothing came of it. Now the time has come, after the company has taken more time for extensive testing of the functionality. Via a firmware update for the Philips Hue Bridge, all Philips Hue products will be Matter-compatible in the future, i.e. they can be combined with all other products and apps that are Matter-compatible. However, this also means that the bridge is a prerequisite for this compatibility.
With the Philips Hue Bridge firmware update, the company wants to ensure that the entire Hue system becomes Matter-compatible. Thus, older light bulbs do not become Matter-capable individually in order to combine them with other products and systems. Another catch: the Philips Hue Bridge does not act as a Matter controller. So it only works one way—thanks to the bridge, Philips Hue products can be integrated into other systems, but conversely, you can’t integrate other companies’ products directly into the Philips Hue app.
Even the new products presented at IFA are not yet Matter-compatible without a bridge, but that will change in 2024.
Festavia light chain and MR16 lamps
Speaking of “newly introduced products”: The big news was of course the introduction of the Philips Hue Secure range, which you can check on this link. In addition, there were two updates from the experts for smart lighting. Once it is about the Festavia light chain. The new generation, which will be released in a few weeks, can be used both indoors and outdoors. At the Philips Hue event yesterday, they already demonstrated this impressively by decorating the outdoor area with several of these new light chains.
There are also new sizes: there was previously the version with 250 LEDs and a cable length of 20 meters. Now there will also be a shorter version with eight meters and 100 LEDs, as well as a 40-meter string of lights with 500 LEDs. For the app, it was also announced new lighting effects that are specifically for the Festavia range: Prism, Sparkle, and Opal.
Also new are the MR16 lamps, which are intended as a smart alternative to conventional spotlights. The lamp works with the same 12V low-voltage as conventional MR16 lamps and is therefore fully compatible. With a bi-pin base and a standard width, this lamp fits perfectly into most existing fixtures in terms of both size and style.
The string of lights will go on sale in September with the following MSRPs for the US market: $119.99 (100 LEDs), $219.99 (250 LEDs), and $359.99 (500 LEDs). The MR16 lamps will also be available in September in various versions, with prices starting at 99.99 dollars for the 2-unit kit.
What do you say: Is this the Matter update you’ve been eagerly waiting for? Or has a completely different product from the Philips Hue family excited you more? Feel free to let us know in the comments.
